IMF says Greece confirms it will repay 450 million euro loan due later this week

Greece's finance minister has told the International Monetary Fund chief that his country will repay a loan from the organization that is due this week.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Yanis Varoufakis met in Washington on Sunday for an "informal discussion" on the debt-stricken nation's reform program, an IMF statement said.

Greece is in difficult negotiations with creditors over its bailout program, which has delayed the disbursement of a 7.2 billion euro ($7.9 billion) aid tranche. That has led to a cash crunch, forcing the government to tap reserves.

"We both agreed that effective cooperation is in everyone's interest," Lagarde said in the statement. "We noted that continuing uncertainty is not in Greece's interest."

Greece must repay a 450 million euro IMF loan installment on Thursday.